Elections Underway for CGHC Board of Directors

November 14, 2014

Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative (CGHC), a nonprofit insurance company that blew past its enrollment projections when it began insuring Eastern Wisconsin residents at the beginning of this year, has begun the process of electing its permanent Board of Directors.

All voting members of CGHC’s Board will be individuals insured by the cooperative, and all members will be elected via a democratic process by the thousands of individuals, family members and employees of companies now insured through CGHC. Put more simply, the members will govern the company.

Earlier this fall, 51 CGHC members were nominated to serve on the permanent Board of Directors. A nominations committee appointed by an interim Board of Directors then selected 13 of the 51to stand for election to the Board. Only the top nine vote getters will serve on the CGHC Board after the contested election.

“It was a difficult process to narrow the field to 13 candidates,” said CGHC’s interim Board Chair, Bob Connolly. “The field of nominees was extremely impressive, but in the end the committee selected an exceptional group of candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences that will serve the cooperative well when making business decisions.”

The member governance model is uncommon for a health insurer, but CEO Cathy Mahaffey believes it will serve the insurance company well. “It’s a competitive advantage for us, no doubt,” said Mahaffey. “It guarantees that our priorities will always be aligned with the people that buy our insurance.”

Mahaffey said ballots will be mailed to members early next week. A document that introduces each of the candidates has been posted to the CGHC website. The election will remain open until December 9, 2014, after which the new board will be announced.